THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Stressing that resilience is the vital trait needed among youngsters, Dr Shashi Tharoor, MP, today urged young professionals to be prepared for setbacks in life when it comes to developing something, besides showing the tenacity to fight the odds.
Dr Tharoor was speaking while inaugurating the sprawling new office of US-based and Silicon Valley-incubated D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) marketplace Way.com, founded by Malayalee entrepreneur Binu Girija, at Technopark Phase 3 here.
“Stumbling and falling happens to almost everyone but what matters is the ability to stay down and pick oneself up and show the resilience and tenacity to fight the challenges,” he said.
Dr Tharoor lauded the resounding emergence of way.com in the face of challenges like Covid-19 and defying issues like bankruptcy. He said the capacity for expansion is unlimited in the state for companies like way.com, and added that unlike other places, the capital city is turning out to be an ideal place for big companies as well as for leading a pleasant life.
Noting that Bloomberg has ranked way.com as the 48th largest marketplace in the world, Binu Girija, CEO, Way.com, said the new office can accommodate 500 employees.
“The company opened its office at Technopark in 2019 with five employees in an area of 200 sqft. Now, it boasts of an area of 28,000 sqft. The company’s staff strength is now 750 in Silicon Valley and Technopark together,” he said.
Shri Balagopal KS, Country Head, India, was also present on the occasion.
Launched in 2016 in the Silicon Valley with parking as its flagship offering, way.com, viewed as the first super auto app, has since then grown into a robust and full-fledged Insurtech/Fintech platform for all car-related services in the USA, such as monthly and hourly parking reservations, car wash bookings, finding and reserving the best city and airport parking, auto finance, Uber ride and Road Side Assistance.
The Technopark office extends the backend services to way.com’s operations in all the 50 American states.
